ORLANDO, Fla. – The Union College men's tennis team kicked off Spring Break on Friday afternoon with a matchup against Division I Fordham University, falling by a 7-0 score to the Rams. Union's second scheduled match of the day against Millennia Atlantic University was postponed due to rain.
 
Despite the lopsided score, Union (1-4) found itself close in several matches against the Division I Rams. In singles play, one match went to a third set, two others needed second-set tiebreakers, and another came one break short in each set.
 
Senior Dimitris Binopoulos and junior Ben Jacobs both battled hard at the top singles flights for the Garnet Chargers. At second singles, Binopoulos dropped the first set 6-3 to Giorgia Soemarno and then came three points short in the second set, dropping a 7-4 tiebreaker. Jacobs had the same fate befall him at first singles, following a 6-2 first set with a 7-6 (7-4) second set.
 
First-year Daniel Saxe took a set off Dhillon Virdee-Oakley in their fourth-singles match, but came up short in the final frame of a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 defeat. Classmate Keita Fukushima also battled hard against Nicholas Kanazirev at third singles, coming up a break short in each set of a 6-4, 7-5 loss.
 
In doubles play, Fukushima and junior Austin Gregory came the closest to a victory, falling to Kanazirev and Virdee-Oakley by an 8-5 score in second-doubles action.
 
After taking the weekend off, Union will return to action in Orlando on Monday with matches against Augustana College and Whitworth University.